1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of shoe drying apparatus and more particularly to such an apparatus secured within the chamber of a clothes dryer.
2. Description of the related art including information disclosed under 37 CFR .sctn.1.97-1.99
The drying of wet shoes is frequently done by placing the shoes in a conventional clothes dryer. Circulated air dries the shoes as they tumble in the dryer. Since the heavy damp shoes are not held in a stationary position within the dryer, they are thrown as the dryer drum rotates. Thus, placing unsecured shoes within a rotating dryer drum often causes damage to the shoes and the dryer. Additionally, heat from the metallic dryer drum surface can damage some shoe materials, such as rubber, as these materials contact the metallic surface. Moreover, the throwing of heavy wet shoes within the dryer is very noisy. Furthermore, at times the thrown shoes in the rotating chamber will knock the dryer door open thereby turning off the dryer and preventing the shoe from being dried.
Devices for holding objects, such as shoes, stationary within an interior surface of a drier are known. Such devices can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,397 to Daily, issued Aug. 29, 1978, U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,641 to Wilson issued Mar. 21, 1989 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,760 to St. Louis issued Jul. 7, 1987.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,397 of Daily, a rack with an open work basket portion is mounted to the drum of a conventional clothes dryer. Articles placed within the rack are dried as the drum rotates. The rack prevents damage to the articles from tumbling against the drum as the dryer rotates. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,641 of Wilson, a shoe holder made of a flexible material is attached to a suction cup that is connected to the inside wall of a clothes dryer. In these known drying devices the articles are supported from their outer portions and not from their interior portions. Disadvantageously, during drying a shoe article it shrinks and loses its natural shape in these known devices. Frequently, the shape of a shoe becomes distorted and damaged during drying and the drying process is slowed down due to the shoe being held from its exterior regions. Moreover, the supporting members adjacent the exterior region of the shoe cover various parts of the shoe, thereby blocking air flow and preventing adequate drying to those blocked regions of the shoe.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,760 of St. Louis issued Jul. 7, 1987 a rack is mounted to the door of a clothes dryer. A boot or shoe is placed on the rack for drying. Disadvantageously, since the rack is mounted to the door of the drier and not to the rotatable drum, the shoe does not circulate as the drum rotates thereby providing an inefficient means for shoe drying. Additionally, due to the configuration of the rack the natural shape of the shoe is lost and becomes distorted when the shoe eventually dries.